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Margaret Polk

Computer Science

The Department of Computer Science at Dominican prepares students for careers in many aspects of the business world. Any organization that depends on computers to generate, store, protect or retrieve information needs employees with substantial computer science training.

Dominican's program also prepares students for graduate study in computer science, business or related disciplines.

If you enjoy puzzles, adapt well to change and possess strong problem-solving and analytical skills, a major in computer science might be right for you. You’ll also need to enjoy working with people because computer scientists usually work as part of a team.

The computer science major at Dominican includes a core set of courses in software development, along with a wide range of electives. The curriculum is on the cutting edge, constantly changing to keep up with the latest technology. Classes cover both the theory and applications of computer science and expose students to applications in a variety of fields. Coupled with Dominican’s comprehensive liberal arts program, the computer science major provides students with the critical thinking skills required to succeed in a complex and ever-changing society.

Course Requirements

To enroll in a computer science class that has course prerequisites, a student must have completed all prerequisite courses with a minimum grade of C-. A minimum of seven courses in computer science at the 200 level or above must be completed at Dominican.

It is recommended that students planning on doing graduate work in computer science also take MATH 251/MATH 261 and MATH 262.

Some computer science courses are not offered every year. It is strongly recommended that a student who plans to major in computer science consult with a faculty member of that department as early as possible in his or her college career.

Career Opportunities

Career paths in computer-related fields include classic jobs like programming, as well as jobs no one even imagined 15 or 20 years ago. Today, many Dominican computer science graduates work as:

Computer programmers

Computer software engineers

Computer systems analysts

Computer support specialists

Computer security specialists

Systems administrators

Networking specialists

Database developers

Web developers

Some computer science graduates continue on to graduate school for advanced degrees. Many more do so after several years in the workforce, often choosing to pursue an MBA degree.

Students who don’t want to wait to earn their MBA should consider Dominican’s 5-year BS/MBA program. Qualified students may begin graduate-level work in Dominican’s Brennan School of Business while they are still undergraduates. This option reduces the time needed to earn the MBA degree.

Students take the required foundation courses as electives in the undergraduate program. They take one graduate course during each semester of their senior year and then the remaining courses the following year.